Primus inter pares means “first among equals” and refers to the dominant person in a group of people who are nominally equal. Many organizations have a person or position with this status, including government officials, religious leaders, and the ancient Roman Senate. The title does not necessarily come with greater authority or power.
Primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning “first among equals”, with “first” meaning being more important or honoured. It refers to the eldest person among a group of people with the same office, rank, or title, or the dominant person in a group of people who are nominally equal but regard one of their members as their leader or most important member. Many organizations have a person or position with this status, officially or unofficially.
Many government officials are now considered primus inter pares, and others still retain titles alluding to the idea. In the United States Supreme Court, the chief justice is considered the senior member of the court and has greater administrative authority than the eight associate justices, but all nine justices have an equal vote in court decisions. The political title of prime minister originally meant that its bearer was the prime minister of a reigning monarch, and thus merely primus inter pares among government ministers or the cabinet rather than the head of government, although in most modern cases this is no longer an accurate description of a prime minister’s status or power. The meetings of the Federal Council of Switzerland are chaired by the President of the Confederation, a position which lasts for one year and normally rotates among the seven members of the Federal Council. Despite his position as president of the highest executive body of the Swiss government, the President of the Confederation is not the head of state; instead the Federal Council holds that title collectively.
The clerical hierarchies of many religious organizations have a position whose holder is considered primus inter pares. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is made up of a number of autocephalous, or self-capitated, Orthodox churches in full communion with each other, the Patriarch of Constantinople is considered the chief official of the Orthodox faith and bears the title universal, patriarch. However, he has direct authority only over the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. The other autocephalous Orthodox Churches govern themselves and their bishops or patriarchs are not appointed by the ecumenical patriarch or under his authority. In the Catholic church, the dean of the College of Cardinals presides over the college and summons it to the papal conclave to elect a new pope when the previous pope dies or abdicates, but has no authority over the other cardinals.
In the ancient Roman Republic, the primus inter pares of the Senate was called princeps senatus, first of the Senate. The title was bestowed every five years by the censors, Roman legal officials responsible for maintaining public morals, on a member of the Senate who had the respect of his peers and a reputation for integrity and public service. The princeps senatus originally had no powers or privileges other than the right to speak first on matters brought to the Senate, but he enjoyed great prestige. Later, the title princeps senatus, or simply princeps, was adopted by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, to maintain the legal fiction that he was simply the principal citizen of a still intact republic and not an autocrat.
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